After a lavish but controversial renovation, the famous Battersea Power Station For the first time in almost 40 years, London will reopen on Friday, allowing a new lease of life.
A coal-fired power station that generates a fifth of London’s electricity, the building will now house hundreds of shops, bars and restaurants. The £9bn (€10bn) transformation, backed by a group of Malaysian investors who bought the site for £400m in 2012, will see 25,000 people live and work in and around the massive building. Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament.

Since the decommissioning of Battersea Power Station in 1983, various plans to revive it have hit many hurdles, including turning the building into a theme park with a shopping center suspended between the chimneys. Now the old turbine halls have been converted into a commercial space housing luxury brands including Rolex and Mulberry.

– Also Read: History of Battersea Power Station

Apple is one of the largest companies renting space in one of Europe’s largest brick buildings, which has powered energy since the 1930s for half a century. The iPhone maker will become the main tenant of the plant and 1,400 employees will move to the new European headquarters, which will occupy six floors of the boiler house, the boiler room at the center of the building, a space large enough to accommodate it. St. Paul’s Cathedral.. The boiler house will also host a dining room on more than 2,000 square meters and is scheduled to open next year. Brands from celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Vivek Singh will also be participating.
On the south bank of the Thames, a new district of around 4,000 homes will also rise, which has drawn much criticism for its lack of financial accessibility.

“There was a fundamental compromise in the Battersea case,” said senior analyst Anthony Breach. Center for Cities: Indulge in the luxury of saving and renovating an iconic power plant, or save money by demolishing the building and using it for affordable housing. “In the grand scheme, this type of mid-rise housing allows many people to live together, access London’s benefits and contribute to the city’s economy,” Breach added. “This is how London should grow.”
Police had reported last week that Labor Party advisers would not attend the October 14 power plant inauguration. BBC, due to lack of social housing. The company claims the reopening of the plant will create 20,000 new jobs and boost the local and national economy. In Wandsworth, a neighborhood dominated by the building, the power plant is estimated to generate £43 million in public spending locally each year.

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As the Battersea Power Station project involves the extension of the Underground’s Northern Line, it will also usher in a new model for funding London’s transport infrastructure. “It should repeat itself over the next few decades, especially considering that Transport to London It’s facing a huge funding crisis,” Breach said.

of Damian Shepherd and Irina Angell
© 2022, Bloomberg
(Translation by Sarah Reggiani)